It’s a wrap: The 2018 JLT Restaurant Awards - #JLTdiningAwards2018

The second JLT Restaurant Awards are over and we would like to thank all our partners,sponsors, and participating restaurants for helping us to put on another phenomenallysuccessful event!

The
#JLTdiningAwards2018 were bigger and better than the inaugural event in 2017,
but the underlying mission remained the same: The Awards aimed to showcase the variety and quality of the eateries in this
Dubai neighbourhood – nowhere else can you find this many different restaurants
in one area – and wanted to recognise the passion, sweat, and efforts put in by
the many independent restaurants in JLT.

We were also curious
to see which restaurants are most popular in 2018 among JLTians – residents,
office workers, and visitors in JLT, the DMCC regulated free zone in the heart
of new Dubai.

2018 JLT Restaurant Awards facts:

There were 16 publicly voted categories in the 2018 JLT Restaurant
Awards. JLT-based restaurants, bars, and cafes nominated themselves for one or
several categories during August and September 2018. Public online voting took
place from 1st – 31st October 2018. In total, we received
67 nominations, which attracted 9,748 public online votes –
1,854 more votes than in 2017! Online voting was supervised by our legal
partner, Charles Russell Speechlys.

For the first time, the Awards featured a “Hidden Gem in JLT” category, which gave JLT residents, office dwellers, visitors, and Dubai foodies the chance to suggest their favourite hidden gems in JLT during August and September. The six most mentioned restaurants were then put into the online voting for the new JLT Hidden Gem category. Click here to find out more about the 2018 #HiddenGemInJLT campaign.

There were also two additional categories, which were awarded by our
expert panel of chefs and restaurant industry experts: Best Newcomer and Best
Overall. You can find out more about our panel of judges on our blog.

The 2018 Awards also featured two “Founder’s Awards” – special awards
given out during the awards gala by JLT Dining founder and CEO of sps:affinity
– Strategic Partnership Solutions Martin Kubler.

Following the close of online voting, we announced the top three
restaurants in each category on our blog. Our expert judges then scrutinized all shortlisted restaurants to
determine the winner and runner-up for each category.

The second JLT Restaurant Awards were open to all restaurants, cafes,
and bars located in JLT, with the exception of international fast food
franchises. We don’t like plastic food.

Judges Awarded Categories

Best Overall

Best Newcomer

Winner: Couqley French Bistro and Bar

Winner: Vietnamese Foodies

Runner-Up: Wokyo

Runner-Up: El Mostacho

Publicly Voted Categories

Best Brunch

Best Service

Best Bar

Winner: McGettigan’s JLT

Winner: Ananda Bhavan

Winner: Couqley French Bistro and Bar

Runner-Up: Friends Avenue Cafe

Runner-Up: Own Cafe

Runner-Up: McGettigan’s JLT

Best Café

Best Chinese

Best European (Licensed)

Winner: Own Cafe

Winner: Asian Wok

Winner: Manzoni Bistro & Bar

Runner-Up: La Cantina

Runner-Up: Wokyo

Runner-Up: Mythos

Best European (Unlicensed)

Best Healthy

Best Middle Eastern

Winner: Greek & Delicious (formerly Labbys The Hellenic House)

Winner: Hayz – Healthy & Yummie Zone

Winner: Bait Maryam

Runner-Up: Favourite Choice

Runner-Up: Poke and Co.

Runner-Up: Mezza Lebanese Kitchen

Best Indian

Best Pizza

Best South Asian

Winner: 800Thali

Winner: Jamie Oliver’s Pizzeria Dubai

Winner: Little Lahore

Runner-Up: Sagar Ratna

Runner-Up: Pitfire Pizza Dubai

Runner-Up: Unforgettable Biryani

Best South East Asian

Best Street Food

Best Sweet Tooth

JLT Hidden Gem

Winner: Betawi Cafe

Winner: Wokyo

Winner: Il Donaccino

Winner: Golositalia

Runner-Up: Vietnamese Foodies

Runner-Up: Café Isan

Runner-Up: The Cake Lab

Runner-Up: Sagar Ratna

Founder’s Awards 2018:

Ayubowan and Bystro Deli JLT

An
event like the JLT Restaurant Awards 2018 could not have been made possible
without the support of passionate individuals, sponsors and partners and we’d
like to thank the following people and companies: